First post, newbie question: DOS-style music?

[Mothwire]

Hello, everyone.  I just recently downloaded ModPlug after having heard a few very slick .it songs, all of which sounded very similar to music from old DOS-based games that I used to play and adore, games like Alone in the Dark, Tyrian 2000 and Waxworks, if any of you are familiar.  I decided that I really want to get in on making music like this.  I'm still learning the ropes of tracking, but in the mean time I was wondering if anyone had any input or advice on things I can do to achieve this particular sound; samples or VSTi's I should download, special ways to configure ModPlug, etcetera.

For reference I've snagged a couple of links to example the type of sound I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-zO0ZKrHHQ - A personal favorite, and a song that'll always stick with me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTglvVMMXjg

Thanks very much, all!

[Saga Musix]

AitD, Tyrian etc. use FM music, i.e. music that is generated using the infamous OPL2 or OPL3 sound chips. Sadly there is no proper OPL VSTi available, so the easiest way to write real and authentic OPL music would be to use Adlib Tracker. Of course AT doesn't support sample playback, so you'd have to decide whether samples are important to you or not. If they are important, it would be easier to just use it as a sound generator and record its output (f.e. playing a long note of an instrument, record it and use that as a sample in OpenMPT).

[LPChip]

Isn't this an option?

Vopm VSTi

[Mothwire]

Most informative, thank you; I'll be looking into both AdlibTracker and that VSTi.  Thanks so much!

[Saga Musix]

LPChip: OPM != OPL. It might sound a bit similar, but it's not the same chip. Or do you think that the Sega Genesis and and AdLib/SB card sound the same?

[LPChip]

LPChip: OPM != OPL. It might sound a bit similar, but it's not the same chip. Or do you think that the Sega Genesis and and AdLib/SB card sound the same?

I didn't say they were the same, I only asked if it were an option, because I know they sound similar and can produce most of the sounds (the filter tables are different, I am aware of that). In fact, I would dare to say that the OPM chip is a polished version of the OPL chip.

An alternative is using an OPL sf2, but that is quite limited. You basically get the standard general midi sounds that were recreated by playing on an adlib soundcard.

If you want software, Scream Tracker 2 was able to create OPL instruments, in its .STM files.

[Saga Musix]

Compared to OPL 3, OPM isn't really polished - just look at the number of waveforms both chips support.
And yeah, sound fonts are another possibility, for example the FAT OPL2 FM sound font and OPL3-FM.

Also, it wasn't ST2 that had AdLib channels but ST3, so you can f.e. use ScreamTracker 3 or SchismTracker to create S3M files with AdLib and PCM instruments.

[Mothwire]

Wow, a good many suggestions.  This should keep me busy for quite a while.  Thanks a ton, you guys.  Adlib Tracker looks promising, and I've downloaded a couple retro FM soundfonts to fool with.  Also downloaded VOPM; that thing is like trying to decipher some arcane tome written in a long-dead language.  Looks like I've got some learning to do.

[Saga Musix]

well, the biggest problem with VOPM is that it doesn't come with a pre-initialized preset list; it comes with an FX bank but OpenMPT can ony load individual patches, so by default you end up with a few programs just consisting of sine waves.

[LPChip]

If you need to be inspired, check these out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_DgUgSUun8

[residentgrey]

What about also using Sound Club, or another tracker?

[Saga Musix]

Sound Club (for Windows) uses FM synthesis? That would be new to me... And when it comes to FM, AdlibTracker simply is the best tracker to date.